Thursday, April 02, 2009

Fino and Manzanilla...must drink more of it

Popped a bottle of Hidalgo's Manzanilla La Gitana in the fridge earlier on, and now I'm sipping it, accompanied by a hunk of bread, some Manchego cheese and a few slices of chorizo. It's a lovely food accompaniment, and I wonder why I don't drink more of it.

It's quite rich textured, with some appley, nutty (acetaldehyde) notes countering the bracing, almost salty freshness. It's 15% alcohol, which isn't much more than many table wines, but it does give some warmth and texture to the otherwise super-fresh palate. I don't know if I could serve this at a dinner party with non-wine geeks, but I do wonder why more people don't use Fino or Manzanilla at table more, especially when you get a really interesting wine for £8 (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose, Whole Foods).

I'm comparing it with another similarly styled wine, M. Fina from Gonzalez Palacios. It's from Lebrija, a town located between Jerez and Sevilla, an it's made with flor like Fino and Manzanilla. It's nuttier and perhaps saltier than the La Gitana, with a bit more depth, but less of the zingy freshness. It has lots of that nutty, appley acetaldehyde character, and is highly food compatible. Yours for £6.95/half from Warren Edwardes' new venture www.stickywines.co.uk. Whether you prefer this or the more edgy La Gitana is probably a matter of taste. Warren sent this interesting nugget about Lebrija:

'Grapes from Lebrija are permitted to be used to produce Sherry and Manzanilla in Jerez and Sanlucar in the DO Jerez-Manzanilla. But vinification of the grapes in Lebrija is not permited to be designated as DO Jerez-Manzanilla. So Bodegas Gonzalez Palacios have demonstarted the quality of their wines to the Andalucian Government and have finally secured their own Quality Region with a view to moving on to a single estate Pago. Arguably Lebrija is more suitable than coastal Sanlucar de Barrameda for the production of "Manzanilla". The hill-top location of the Gonzalez Palacios bodega outside Lebrija along with its coastal aspect ensures a lower temperature not only than Jerez but also Sanlucar de Barrameda so comfortably ensuring a year round flor cover that leads to the sea-salty taste remniscent of "Manzanilla" - only more so. But DO Manzanilla ensured through the courts that wines produced by Gonzalez Palacios in Lebrija cannot be called "Manzanilla Fina". Hence M. Fina or Flor de Lebrija.'

it does sound lovely, i can imagine you somewhere with lovely surroundings, sherry is a great drink to relax to i beileve any way and goes great with a little snack, crackers and cheese is my persnal favourite to unwind with sherry

Interesting, Warren. But I thought there was year-round flor on finos, too - otherwise they would become fino amontillados or amontillados, no? I'd been told it may subside in the heat, but doesn't die fully.

When you say there is more flor, does that mean that the Lebrija wine is kept in barrels filled less than in Sanlucar/ Jerez so there is greater contact with the flor?

I am curious about the salinity, though. I haven't found it in any non-maritime vins de voile, strange Jura numbers, or Jerez or Montilla Moriles Finos. The only other place I have tasted it was in some odd flor-covered white grenache vin insolite from the Roussillon. I can't for the life of me remember what it was, though.

I know you don't believe in the sea air theory (though its humidity is thought to help the flor, isn't it?), but perhaps the sea breezes coming up across the marshes are important!

Warren..my plan was for a Manzanilla aperitif..maybe a fino with the starter..then Amontillado with a fish course....a dry Oloroso with the main course..and a Pedro Ximenez with a rich dessert....I've had this plan now for 10 years..and my guess is..it will never happen..

Great post. Can't believe I missed the chatter afterwards. Sherry induced sleep again! All very interesting.

The Lebrija/El Cuervo guys are going it alone by the way. Breaking away from the Jerez Consejo Regulador.

Story in Spanish here:http://www.diariodejerez.es/article/jerez/389380/lebrija/deja/usurpar/jerez/y/se/volcara/sus/propios/vinos.html

With all the tension in this neck of the woods at the moment I wonder if Manzanilla might not end up doing something similar.

Martin right re Flor not dying in Jerez, but it does get thinner due to the heat in summer. El Puerto, Sanlucar and I guess Lebrija stays much thicker through the summer.

I'm in the more flor = more saltiness (and other things) camp. I can't believe sea air would make a significant difference? I don't believe it does for Islay whisky either. Nice romantic thought though.

Yes. In fact I can't recall more than a very few occasions when I went out with friends and had anything but tapas at night. Tapas can be as substantial as you want them, and in eastern Andalusia even more so than in the west.

OOPS Sorry for being so definitive and evidently incorrect about tapas in Andalucia.

Just visited and never lived in Andalucia. Lived in Barcelona and Madrid and often visited pretty much everywhere in Spain and must say I have never anywhere been out to tapas instead of dinner with Spaniards.

Ha! I am just discovering manzilla (with roasted red peppers, macadamia nuts and parma ham), and am drinking the exact La Gitana Manzilla. Lovely stuff- must drink more is what I think when I venture to sherry. What glass suits it best is what I was wondering about when I came online searching manzanilla. . . any comments?